Crimson Dawn
by Nether Lord Hades
Summary: Life in Singapore can be a real pain in the ass. Especially when every uncle, auntie, ah beng, foreign worker, ang moh and maid out there wants to eat your flesh. Welcome to the new Singapore, where Infected roam the land. You'd better have a weapon ready because after all, when there's no more government to complain to, survival is your own problem. (SYOC OPEN)
1. Prolouge

The worldwide pandemic that was scientifically known as 'LQP-79' or more commonly 'The Infection' began two days before the start of Term four November holidays.

No one really knows how the Infection got started. Most are certain that it was the work of some spontaneous virus. Others speculate it could have been a biological weapon developed by our government and military for use in biochemical warfare. Rumor and speculation continue to persist as we tried to come to terms with LQP-79.

Still, almost next to nothing is known of the virus responsible for causing the creation of the zombies simply known by most as 'Them' or 'The Infected'.

Scientists attempting to isolate the virus from infected hosts were strangely unable to contain the virus even using what they perceived to be the most secure methods on the earth.

Why the Infected are called everything else other than 'zombie' indicates that They are still alive, only with everything making them human striped away.

One thing is for sure, if you encounter them you either better run like your very life depends on it or stand and fight. Why? Because if They get a hold of you, only one bite is needed for you to become one of Them.

When the Infection occurred, the world as we knew it came to an end. All of the stories about the world coming to an end were finally starting to come true. The scariest thing about it all was that with all the advances man had made over the centuries, there was not a single thing anyone could do to stop it.

To be honest, I never really gave any of this much thought anyway, given that I was caught up in all the assignments not to mention almost 5 stacks of homework every night for each subject, me and my friends being in Secondary 3 and all.

Anyway, the worst that ever happened here in Singapore was the SARS outbreak 13 years ago.

Like I said, I hadn't paid much attention to it until the apocalypse started, turning our home into a living necropolis, hell on earth.

Now Infected are roaming the streets, turning normal humans into one of Them, mindless creatures that have no control whatsoever over themselves other than to feed on the flesh of the living...

OC Form (You may create as many as 4 OCs):

**General:**

**Name** –

**Nicknames** –

**Gender-**

**Age- **Any age from 13-18 is accepted

**Grade/Job-**

**Clubs/Activities** –

**Nationality** – Preferably Singaporean, but doesn't have to be. Your OC could be ang moh (Caucasian) if you want.

**Ethnicity** –

**Appearance** – Please include general .details like hair colour (no crazy hair colours), height, build etc, enough so that I can form a clear image of the character.

**Outfits-**

Casualwear- You may include a maximum of 3 different outfits for casual, up to you

Sleepwear-

**Advantages** – Non-combat stuff, general advantages like good leadership or good at socializing

**Disadvantages** – Likewise but can include physical disabilities as long as they'd affect daily life

**Hobbies **-

**Likes** – General stuff

**Dislikes** – Likewise

**Favorite Food**-

**Least Favorite Food**-

**Personality** –

**Habits/Quirks **–

**History** – The more detailed the better especially if a traumatic experience is concerned.

**Relationships** – Try to keep them to close friends and family. If you submit multiple OCs you may include their relationships with each other.

**Theme songs(Completely Optional)-**

**Combat:**

**Weapons** – Please include at least a melee, a ranged weapon (Doesn't have to be a firearm, as long as it's ranged) and please keep it reasonable so your character isn't going to be running around with like 4 miniguns, 2 rocket launchers and a gravity gun.

**Additional Gear**- Things like backpacks, med kits, that kind of stuff

**Fighting Style**-

**Strengths**- At least 4

**Weaknesses**- Physical disabilities that were mentioned above may be repeated here. At least 4 as well.

**A/N: Well, that's it! The OC form will be on my profile as well so you can copy and paste it. Submit your OC/s through either PM or as a review. (I don't mind). Hope you guys enjoyed that (as much as a prolouge can be enjoyed) and I'll see you guys later in Chapter 1 which will be coming out when I think I have enough OCs. Bye!**

**-NLH :)**


	2. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, Nether Lord Hades here with the first offical chapter of Crimson Dawn! Before we begin though, there's some stuff I'll need to clarify first: As this book is set in Singapore, there will be use of what is known as Singapore Engilsh or Singlish. Terms and definitions will be provided in a Singlish dictionary at the end of this chapter for those of you who do not understand.**

**Now, without further ado, let's get on with the first chapter!**

**_Marina Bay Sands, Singapore, 6/11/15, 5:30PM_**

"Whoa, this is so cool leh!" My friend, Ben Yick runs out in front of me. I don't know why, it's only the Esplanade and it's a mile away.

"Come on lah, it's not that cool," I say, shaking my head. Even though the way the Esplanade tops off the nighttime skyline of Singapore is neat, it's not amazing.

Even the Penang Twin Towers seems more interesting than this.

I fail to see what's so special about it, all of us have been here before. There's really nothing for him to be excited about.

"Ben, I don't see what's so special about the Esplanade lah. We've all seen it before," my friend, Pui Leng Choon comments from behind me. I turn and look at her.

"You think we should follow him or not?" I ask.

PL shakes her head. "No lah, there's no point. We all know Ben can be an idiot sometimes."

"True." I smirk.

Pui Leng laughs. "Should we wait for Ben to stop staring at the Esplanade or not?"

"Maybe. Maybe not." I say.

"I'll kick Ben's ass if he doesn't hurry up!" PL jokes.

The only reason we're at Marina Bay Sands is because of a Secondary 4 excursion, a 'end-of-year treat' after all our exams. The excursion was quite expensive. Ben and I managed to earn enough money to come, while PL was able to front the money outright.

PL and I start walking towards a bench nearby and sit, tired of waiting for Ben. We're not even supposed to be on the streets this late, at least I don't think so.

"I wonder how someone can be so stupid leh," I comment.

"What do you mean?" PL asks.

"Ben, he's the definition of stupid." I tried not laugh as I said this.

Pui Leng smirks. "Ya, sometimes I just don't how he can be such a idiot leh!"

Ben suddenly returns.

"Guys! Guys!" he basically shouts.

"What is it lah?" I ask.

"Wah'ppen leh?" PL questions, sounding concerned.

"Just..." He tries to catch his breath. "Come with... me."

He runs off in the direction he came.

"Should we follow him or not?" PL asks.

I nod. "Ya, might as well lah."

We start after Ben.

"Wah lau," Pui Leng complains. "Why do we have to run?"

"Ben's the one who should be complaining about running, not you lah," I retort, well aware of PL's rigours martial arts and endurance training.

Granted, she is someone not to be messed with unless you wanted to end up in hospital with more than a few broken bones.

We suddenly run into Ben outside what appears to be an electronics store.

I note the big flat screen TV my friends were all looking at.

For some reason, there was a breaking news report on.

"Attempts to reach the centres of disease about how to combat this new mutant strain of Ebola known as LQP-79 have been fruitless so far and the World Health Organisation fear it's already become a pandemic." The newscaster was saying.

"What the hell is she talking about?" I ask.

"Ya, what is it?" Pui Leng seconds my question.

"Just keep watching lah," Ben says.

"We now go live with Nathan Ong from our sister station in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. How's it look out there, Nathan?"

The camera switches to show a reporter in the Kuala Lumpur CBD.

"From the looks of things here, the Infected haven't been as big of a problem here. The Armed Forces seem to have the situation under control..."

The reporter's voice blanks from my mind. Infected? Did he just say Infected? As in zombies?

I turn to my friends. "Guys, did he just say 'Infected'? As in-"

"Zombies?" Pui Leng finishes.

Ben just nods.

What? I've joked before about a zombie apocalypse, but I don't recall actually wanting to be caught in the middle of one.

"They don't actually mean that, do they?" I ask, but my friends ignore me, their eyes glued to the screen.

In background, behind the reporter, I could just make out the uniforms of Malaysia's millitary patrolling the streets for the apparent undead, armed with semi-automatic M16M1 assault rifles. A Pendekar main battle tank drives in the background, a soldier manning the turret.

All of us are silent.

This is serious shit. The military's being sent out to fight them.

"Wah lau, they are serious leh." PL mutters, her gaze transfixed to the screen showing one of the Infected pouncing upon and ripping a solder to shreds before he could even scream or open fire.

The soldier, now one of the Infected, got up and started attacking nearby people."Did you guys see that or not?" PL asks in disbelief.

"Ya, he turned into one of Them in less than ten seconds!" Ben exclaimed.

The picture shifts again to show the woman newscaster from before in the Singaporean station.

"Several other counties aren't faring as well as Kuala Lumpur. Bangkok is under widespread siege. The Thailand Special Forces is currently attempting to evacuate survivors which may prove difficult."

A short video clip of the chaos in Bangkok is shown. People run like lunatics away from something, which I assume are the Infected.

"Singapore is safe for the time being although it appears that the virus is approaching. Beijing is in a similar state, but Shanghai it is completely engulfed in chaos."

Another video clip rolls, this time showing buildings in Shanghai on fire. Then another video cuts in and shows several city blocks in a huge inferno.

"This is so bad," Ben says.

"They're kidding, right?" PL asks.

The three of us were speechless. We kept watching the news report in silence.

"Numerous states and countries across the globe are also in various stages of distress. The U.S. has maintained order, while Xiàn has gone up in flames much like Shanghai..."

"We've just been told that Moscow has gone silent.

There are also reports of widespread looting in Paris and Rome..."

"What should we do leh?" PL asks.

"First, we need weapons to fend off the zombies lah," I tell my friends, pointing out the obvious.

"Maybe..." Ben spins around. "We can go to the Kopitiam over there on the opposite side?" he suggests, pointing towards a food court opposite the TV-displaying store.

Yeah, great idea, Ben. Let's just casually chill out in a food court while a zombie apocalypse is at our fucking doorstep.

I open my mouth to protest, but PL cuts me off. "Good idea lah, Kopitiams have TVs and maybe the people in there know what's going on." She turns, starting to walk towards the Kopitiam. Ben and I follow.

That's actually not as stupid as I first thought. Regardless, I don't think the Infection has reached Singapore yet.

"This is crazy, right?" I say, but no one answers. There's a loud shout and I look to my left to see the other two, but they're frozen in place, facing my right. "Guys, what's wrong?"

Ben is the one to respond as he raises a shaking finger. I look to where he's pointing and my eyes widen too.

A Singapore Armed Forces Humvee is speeding down the street, running over a couple pedestrians along the way. People start screaming.

"What the hell are they doing?" I murmur.

"That can't be legal leh," PL observes.

The Humvee is still mowing down people on the streets, and here we are, standing like total dumbasses in its path.

"Move out of the way lah!" PL shouts, pulling Ben and I off the sidewalk. It seems Ben already has the same idea and grabs my shirt while we're on the road.

It's total chaos. People are flying, literally and not literally, trying to get out of the way. A body that was tossed up in the air by the Humvee slides right in front of us. It's mangled and bloody.

Resisting the urge to throw up at the gory sight, the three of us dash across the street, several people smacking into us. There's a guy on the ground, wailing in pain. He seems to have broken his ankle, but I can't grab him. Someone else runs on the guy, smashing his face into the road.

I feel a tug on my sleeve and I feel the urge to throw up. I look up and the Humvee is right in front of me.

The vehicle's lights temporarily blind me, causing my eyes to shut. The next moment I can feel myself flying and my back slamming onto the ground. Was I just hit?

I open my eyes, seeing Ben and Pui Leng sprint over.

"You okay or not?" PL asks, worry written all over her face.

"I feel like my head was just ran over by a truck!" I complain.

"You just were!" Ben laughs, but was silenced by an icy glare from Pui Leng.

I turn my head to see the Humvee smash into a street lamp, the engine smoking. Military vehicles shouldn't be that prone to damage so easily...Wow, this is crazy. I just saw twenty, maybe more people just get killed.

"Ryan!"

I turn back around, Ben being the source of my name. I scramble to my feet. Something's tugging at me though. I turn towards the Humvee.

There's something wrong with that Humvee, especially if it just started mowing down civilians. We're not North Korea, so it's scary. I don't think the government would've been given orders to kill fellow Singaporeans, especially those who aren't infected.

I don't know why I'm walking towards the military vehicle now, I really don't.

"Ryan!" Ben yells. I hold up my hand as I keep walking. People bump into me as they scatter about, trying to get to safety.

"What on earth is he doing leh?" I hear PL ask.

"I need to know what caused these guys to drive like it was GTA," I call to my friends.

I reach the side of the Humvee, propped up on the bent street lamp. This thing really managed to do some damage.

Blood soaked the windows, making it hard to see inside, maybe I should check the front...

Standing on the front driver's side tire, I peer into the windshield. I see a smashed up face behind some more blood.

"Ryan, come on lah," PL shouts, barely audible above the commotion. "Get over here leh!"

I ignore her and peer deeper into the vehicle. Its occupants are dead, it seems. But if there's one thing I know about zombies, it's that you need to kill them by destroying the brain. A viable killing tool is a gun or some other weapon, and the Singapore Armed Forces have weapons, so...

I hop off of the tire and walk to the door, my hand shaking as I raise it to the handle. I grip the handle and pull.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" my friends shout.

The driver's body rolls out of the seat, mangled and surreally decomposed. I think I'm gonna throw up.

A torrent of partially-digested food and bile forces its way out of my throat. The vomit covers the dead Serviceman's face.

I hear countless rapid footsteps as I try to catch my breath after throwing up all over the dead army guy's body.

"Wah lau leh!" I hear PL say as she places a hand on my back. "What were you thinking lah?"

"Weapons, we need weapons."

"Why lah? No good survival story starts with the survivors having weapons. Besides, the military'll have it all under control soon leh." Ben pipes up.

I shrug him off. "Doubt it lah, this isn't a horror movie."

"Ya Ben, wake up your idea, can or not?" PL waves her other hand in front of his eyes.

I step over the corpse and peer into the car's interior. Blood cakes the seats and windows, the man in the passenger seat still moving.

He's moving! But he's just smacking his face on the window, groaning. The dome light is illuminating his face, which is deathly pale. Is this guy Infected?

He seems oblivious to me, so I decide against bringing attention to myself. Even if I did, the noise outside should keep him distracted until I find what I want. I look around the front, but there's nothing of interest. I back up and shut the door, coming face to face with Ben.

"Let's go lah," he says, taking my arm.

"We will once we get weapons, be patient can or not?" I yank my arm away and open the back door.

The overhead light comes on again and the back is not as bloody as the front, thankfully. Where do they put the weapons in a military Humvee? I swear it's in the back.

There's one! What is it, a M16S1 assault rifle? I don't care. I grab the part of the rifle that's visible and pull it out. There's a magazine inserted, Good thing it didn't accidentally fire.

I back out with the M16 in hand and look to my left. The dead solider is still lying there, military vest and all. They usually have magazines in their vests, don't they?

"What are you going to do with that?" Ben asks.

"I'm going to shoot you if you don't shut up lah." I joke.

He immediately shuts up.

I bend down next to the Serviceman, setting the M16 down next to me. I rummage through his vest, and sure enough, he has some magazines. Four, to be exact. Better than nothing.

I then grab around his thigh, where other weapons normally are. I touch metal, grab hold, and yank, pulling out a sheathed combat knife with what looks like a standard six millimetre blade and a pair of spiked brass knuckles which I give to PL. She slips them onto her hands, the seven-inch steel spikes in between her fingers gleaming in the sun.

I keep the knife in my pocket.

I then feel around the fallen soldier's body again, retrieving a M9 machine pistol with five spare magazines. I stand up, sliding the M16 mags into my pants pocket and grabbing my new M16 by the carrying handle.

"Here," I hold the M9 out to Ben.

He hesitates. "Ryan, this is wrong lah."

I slide the pistol and its ammo into my free pocket. "Then don't complain when some Infected is eating your flesh for dinner."

Ben smiles despite the situation, holding out his hand. "Give me the gun lah."

I grin, glad that he gets my point. Sliding the pistol out of my pocket, I hand it to him, grip first.

He takes the M9 from me and flicks off the safety, aiming it near me.

"What are you doing leh?" I ask. Why is he aiming at me of all people?

"Look behind you lah," he says.

I turn my head to see what he's talking about. Surely it can't be anything.

"Ughhhh..."

What the hell?! The body, it's moving! And it's grabbed my leg! But how? Unless...

I grip the M16's carrying handle tight and use my free hand to hold the rifle's grip. Using all of the force I can, I raise the gun up into the air and bring the butt down on the puke covered skull. A sickening thud ensues, brain matter and skull fragments mixing in with the partially-digested food.

"Freaking asshole," I mutter as I hand Ben the five M9 magazines still in my possession.

He takes them and shoves them into his pocket, wiping away the vomit.

We make our way towards the food court, Ben's M9 lazily hanging by his side, my M16 in hand and PL at the ready with her new brass knuckles.

I sling the carrying strap over my right shoulder, that way the rifle hangs by my right hand.

I look behind us to see some guy have the same idea I did. He opens the door and a zombie lunges at him from behind, grabbing hold and feasting on him. That poor guy getting his face eaten off, I don't wish that on anybody. Now I wish I shot it.

We duck into the Kopitiam. Ben quickly closes the door behind us as we walk further into the food court. There are several people nervously sitting at tables scattered around the place. I notice Catherine Li and Matthew Tay from the school excursion are sitting at a table in the far corner. They see the three of us walking towards them and Catherine waves at us.

"Where did you get those leh?" Matt calls out.

"SAF Humvee crashed outside," I say.

"You stole from the military?!" He asks incredulously.

"It wasn't stealing, it's called trying to survive." Ben says, a stupid grin plastered across his face.

"Especially not when the solder we got these from is Infected," I add.

"Infected Servicemen?" Catherine asks.

Ben and I nod.

"I thought everything was fine mah?" She says.

"Just one soldier," I say. "I don't think it's that bad lah." I then pull the sheathed combat knife from my pocket and hand it to her, knowing that she was deadly with one as she trained in armed combat.

"Oh ya, sure," Matt walks to one of the many windows and looks out. "Shit..."

"What is it leh?" PL asks, curious.

"Take a look for yourselves lah."

The four of us walk to the window and look out.

The sight is horrific. In the five minutes or so since PL, Ben and I came inside, the streets have gone from a site of chaos to a gruesome dinner hall. Infected shambled around the streets in their weird gait. Some people are too stupid to run, thinking instead that shouting would help.

There's a young Malay woman who knocked an Infected off of some guy, likely her boyfriend or someone close, and she's caressing him. He inches up and takes a chunk out of her jugular. I turn away to avoid seeing the blood and cover my ears to try to block out her screams. The other people in the Kopitiam look at the window, concerned.

I slide the M16 off of my shoulder and grab the carrying handle. These people could use help.

I pull the rifle up and grab the grip, but Matt stops me.

"Save your ammo lah," Matt tells me.

"Why? I've got a hundred and twenty rounds! One headshot each and I could clear this street!"

Matt just sighs. "Unless you want to attract a bigger horde with that noise, go ahead lah. I won't stop you."

I glare at Matt, even though I know he's right. It's just unnecessary attention...

Matt turns away from the window. "Eh, uncle," He waves a nearby waiter over. "Turn on the TV, see what is going on, can or not?"

The waiter nods and fumbles with a remote, clumsily pushing the power button. No matter the channel, news reports will be on. Sure enough, they are.

"There are reports from Australia regarding the outbreak of the LQP-79 there as well, more than one thousand have been victimised or reported missing in Brisbane so far." The newscaster's hair looks frayed. This is serious if even the news teams are getting this stressed.

"The governor has called for a-"

A gunshot rings out, causing the reporter to look to her right. The cameraman moves the camera's angle to face where the shots came from. An Australian ambulance has its back open, ready to load two body bags in. The body bags start to rise but another shot is fired, going through one of the body bags. A third shot is then fired, going through the other bag.

"The military have started to open fire! I don't know what's going on, but-"

The reporter is cut off by screaming and the camera falls to the ground. God knows what happened there. One thousand or more dead, Infected or missing in an Australian community alone... the entire cities of Shanghai and Xiàn in flames...

"...Cuba, Havana is lost and the people are revolting in the streets..."

"What are we going to do leh?" Matt asks, slumping down next to me.

"Dunno lah," I say.

Catherine goes back to the window and looks out again.

"What's happening?" Ben asks.

"Of course nothing good lah," came the muffled reply. "It's slowly getting better, but slowly getting worse at the same time and some of Them are surrounding here." She backs away from the window. "I think I'm going to throw up lah."

Poor Catherine, she must've seen someone get eaten.

"Shit..." Matt mutters from behind me.

"I'm getting something to drink," Catherine announces. "You guys want anything or not?"

"Ice Milo," Ben says.

"Glass jelly drink," Matt said.

"Green tea," PL replies.

"You leh?" Catherine looks at me.

"Don't worry about me lah, I might get something later myself." I tell her.

"So how? We need a plan," Matt says as Catherine leaves to get the drinks from the vending machine.

"Agreed." I say.

"Getting the shit out of here would be good lah," Ben says.

I sigh and the rest of my friends just ignore him knowing it was impossible with the number of Infected just outside the door.

My gaze drifts back up to the TV. Australia, Thailand, France, Italy and Russia each lost a major city. Russia lost its capital, as did Italy and France. America maintained order, so that should be reassuring, right?

"Ryan, you're looking as if you're taking responsibility for something, you okay or not?" Matt's voice breaks my thoughts.

I shrug and rub my eyes. "Ya, I'm just thinking lah." The M16 is tiring my arm, so I pull it up and set it on the counter.

Just then, Catherine gets back and hands out the drinks.

She sits back down next to me, sipping on her own drink through the straw.

I glance at Ben and notice that he's sipping on his ice Milo but not talking. This was kind of disturbing, especially since he usually very talkative, but I think Ben's just in shock. It doesn't surprise me, really as he has always been pretty kiasu.

Now that I think about it, he's paler than usual.

"You okay or not?" I ask him.

He looks at me, his eyes fearful behind his black-rimmed metal glasses, "I'm fine lah," he responds.

I knew he was trying not to worry any of us so I didn't push it.

"You guys want me to go out and clear those Infected or not?" Catherine questioned.

I knew just how skilled she was with a knife but we couldn't risk it.

"It's too risky leh." I say.

"Then what ah? Stay in here and kena get screwed when we can do something about it?" Matt says.

Catherine suddenly gets up, knife in hand, her face set hard.

"What are you doing leh?" I ask.

"Getting us out of here," she replies

"Don't be stupid! You'll get killed!" I protest.

"Don't worry lah, I'll be fine." She walks to the door and briefly peers outside before flinging open the door.

The Infected catch her scent almost immediately, closing in on her position just outside the door.

An Infected lunges at her, it's jaws open revealing bloodied fangs and jagged broken teeth.

Catherine wasted no time in driving her new combat knife straight though it's skull causing the Infected crumple before her, dead for good.

She then turned, stabbing another Infected though the eye, gore and infected brain matter splattering all over her clothes and hair.

Spinning around, she stabbed an Infected that got too close, her knife going right though its eye socket.

Catherine then followed up by whipping around and skilfully skewering another Infected's brain and sending it smashing into a wall, both Infected comrades dying alongside each other.

She raised her knife again, continuously swinging at the Infected. She quickly turned around, killing those that were behind her, getting a few more with another swing as well.

She continued to spin around in a circle, her knife was a deadly blur of sliver that spelled death for any Infected that came into contact with it, the blade piercing their skulls and tearing though their brains. After a few minutes of repeating, there were only one Infected left, and I could tell she was exhausted from all the killing.

She leant down to catch her breath, her back turned to the last remaining Infected which tackled her to the floor from behind.

I thought Catherine was dead, but she stopped the Infected from biting her by twisting around and grabbing its jaw, dislocating it with impressive strength.

She then threw it off before plunging her knife into its head, splattering a whole bunch of brain matter, blood and some other unidentifiable disgusting fluid onto the already bloody concrete pavement.

Catherine came back in, shutting the door behind her, the other diners looking at her in awe.

A guy who couldn't be much more than a year older than us was staring at her like a pervert but quickly averted his gaze as Catherine shot a death glare in his direction.

She sat back down next to me, pulling out a comb from her bag and running it though her long silky black hair, attempting to get as much blood out of it as possible while she sipped on her ice lemon tea.

"What now leh?" Matt questioned.

"We should get supplies and find somewhere to stay for the night lah." Ben says.

"My grandparents have a house around here, we could stay there," I point out.

Catherine nodded, "Good lah, but what about supplies leh?"

"We can go to the Marina Bay mall near here for supplies, there's a NTUC there we can go to for food." I tell my friends.

"So what should we do now lah? Go to your house first or go to the shopping mall?" Pui Leng asks.

"Not sure leh...what do you guys think?" I question.

"We should go check out the shops and get supplies first, makes more sense right?" Catherine says.

She rummages in her bag for a while before pulling out a notepad and pen, writing something on the notepad before sliding it across the table to me.

"Uh, I can't read your writing..." I tell her, squinting at the words on the page.

"What lah? My handwriting that bad meh?" She questions.

"Ya, you got doctor's handwriting mah." Matt laughs, peering over my shoulder.

"I just wrote down what we need to get when we visit the shopping mall later lah," Catherine said. "Basic stuff like advanced first aid kits, clothes and extra food plus bottled water."

"Are we going now or not?" Matt asks as he shoulders his bag.

"Ya, I suppose..." I grab my M16 by the handle and sling it over my shoulder.

Without another word, the five of us stand up and head out the double glass doors.

We didn't talk much on the way there, we all had many thoughts and personal worries swirling around in our heads and we also didn't want to attract any more attention than needed from the Infected. A couple hordes came at us but they fell before our weapons quickly.

We walked through the bloodstained hallways of the mall until we found the NTUC grocery store. As we entered through the manual push door, Catherine tapped me on the shoulder, forcing me to look at her.

"I have something I want to ask you leh." Catherine tells me.

"Go ahead lah." I invited.

"You got that gun from a dead Serviceman, correct or not?" She asked, worry etching her voice.

"Ya, why?"

"Can you tell me what he looked like? My dad's obviously a Serviceman in the SAF. I just want to be sure lah."

"He was quite short, middle aged and had short spiky hair." I described, remembering the Infected I had seen in the Humvee.

Catherine sighs with relief. I wish I could have known that same relief. I didn't know if my mum and sister were okay as they had gone to one of my sister's school fencing competitions while my dad was currently serving in the Army fighting

against the Infected like most other Singaporean men, leaving me to take care of myself.

I talked to Catherine a little more while everyone finished getting what they needed.

"Clothes store now, correct or not?" I asked as we headed out of NTUC.

The girls nodded and skipped ahead, leaving Ben, Matt and myself behind pushing the cart full of supplies.

We entered the clothes store. It was a huge place with two floors and a ton of changing rooms. Everyone looked at Matt for what to do next. He sighed and glanced at me for help.

"Matt, stay here with our supplies." I say. "PL and Catherine, you two check the bottom floor changing rooms then move on to the main part of the bottom floor, Ben and I will look upstairs." I coordinated. Ben and I ran up the broken escalator.

I grabbed a mannequin and swung at an Infected wandering up there. I could hear fighting downstairs, but no screaming, which I took as a positive sign that the girls were doing fine by themselves. The Infected I was fighting fell and I smashed its head with the base of the mannequin.

I nearly slipped on some blood, but caught my balance and swung at another one. The mannequin broke and bits of plastic embedded themselves in the one I was trying to kill. The force didn't knock it over. Now I was weaponless, other than my M16 which I didn't want to use.

Luckily, Ben came to me and smashed it's skull repeatedly with his pistol until it crumpled to the ground, lifeless.

We were clear upstairs.

We then quickly ran back down to check on Matt and the girls, in time to see Catherine skilfully finish one of Them off as it approached Pui Leng who had her back to the approaching Infected.

"Is that it?" I asked.

"Ya, that's it." Catherine said, as she wiped the blood from her knife before sheathing it.

The men's department was on the upper floor. Matt, Ben and I rushed upstairs.

I grabbed two pairs of jeans, a single red polo shirt when I wanted to put some effort into my appearance, some comfortable-looking sleepwear and five T-shirts with designs I liked. I'd also taken several pairs of comfortable socks, some multipacks of fresh underwear and some shoes for practical purposes. One pair of shoes for comfort when walking day-to-day, and a pair of boots for hiking. I had also taken three hoodies, one black, one dark blue and one dark green.

PL had also found and taken a second shopping cart for all of the clothes we would inevitably end up with, but we couldn't take it up the broken escalator.

The other guys came back wearing new stuff. Matt was wearing a plain black T-shirt and dark blue jeans. Ben was wearing a blue T-shirt and beige shorts. He'd also found a new pair of glasses and a pair of prescription sunglasses that looked pretty cool. They were struggling with the clothes they weren't wearing as they had more then I did. We then walked back down the escalator.

"Are you girls ready or not?" I called down.

"Nearly lah! We're in the change rooms, wait and we'll show you guys what we got." Pui Leng called.

I found the shopping cart right beside the escalator, getting Matt and Ben to dump their new clothes in along with mine.

Catherine came out first. She wore black jeans, black combat boots and a black long sleeved t-shirt. She looked stunning. I just about fell over at the sight of her.

Pui Leng then revealed herself. Her fringe had been swept across her forehead and behind her ears instead of coming down the middle of her face now. She wore a white t-shirt and a dark blue skirt that looked similar to our school uniform for girls. It was open on one side, which gave her mobility.

"Wow...You both look amazing." I said.

Ben started to get a nosebleed while Matt nodded, speechless.

"Enough drooling, let's go lah." Catherine said.

I shook myself conscious and tried not to look at her too much. She noticed and smiled at me. We put the rest of the clothes in carrier bags and put them in the cart.

As we walked towards the exit, my eyes fell upon a weapons store. I ran in.

"Just a minute guys! I'll catch up!" I called.

I looked around before spotting a double headed battle axe, I grabbed it off the wall and strapped it to my back. I then hastily grabbed a L115S1 sniper rifle with extra ammo for Matt before running to catch up with the others.

I tossed the rifle and ammo to Matt who caught the box of spare ammo and the rifle grip first, strapping it around his left shoulder.

"We need a place to rest for the night lah, we definitely won't make it to your house before night." Catherine says to me, glancing at the setting sun.

"We could go back to the hotel lah." I suggest.

"How far is it leh?" Matt questioned.

"About ten minutes walk lah." I reply, starting to head in the hotel's general direction.

"Sounds good lah, let's go." Matt nods at me.

**Singlish dictionary:**

**Lah**

The Singlish term 'lah' is used at the end of a sentence as an intensifier used like a fullstop in a sentence.

**Leh**

Yet another Singlish tag, similar in usage to "Lah", most often tagged at the end of a question.

**Meh**

A Singlish tag similar to 'leh' which accompanies questions. Adds a slight tone of incredulity.

**Wah lau**

A Singlish term similar to 'Oh my God'

**Uncle**

A Singlish term similar to 'Sir' or 'Mister'

**A/N: Well, that's Chapter 1 for you. Hope you guys enjoyed it and I'll see you all in the next Chapter. If you have any questions please PM me. Bye for now! -NLH.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, Nether Lord Hades here with the second chapter of Crimson Dawn. Well, I don't really have anything to say and I know you guys are itching to read so let's just get this show on the road! **

We exit the mall and start moving, checking around corners and keeping alert. Better be safe than sorry.

The alleyway was empty, thankfully. We continue out onto the streets and I take note of the immense number of Infected. There's so many...What's odd, though, is how they're not paying attention to us. We've walked past a couple and They haven't tried attacking us.

We make it in front of a store with music playing outside. I think it used to be a music store or something, the Infected are crowded underneath the speakers.

"What's going on leh?" I whisper to Matt.

"If Left4Dead logic applies here, the Infected are only attracted to sound." He whispers

We continue walking. I'm surprised that we've made it this far without an incident.

SQUECH!

I take that back. I look to my side in time to see PL impale an Infected that seems to have gotten too close.

Nonetheless, we carry on.

After a few more minutes of walking, I break the well-settled silence. "Almost there lah," I point down the street to a tall building. "There's the hotel."

"Finally!" Ben says, a little too loudly.

I shush Ben. "We're almost there lah, shut up can or not?"

Ben smiles cheekily, raising his hands in mock fear and we carry on. I slash a couple Infected in the back of the head with my new axe as we creep to the hotel.

"Here it is!" I exclaim as we approached the hotel.

"Finally, we can relax for a while lah." Matt muttered.

Not wanting the carts to take up valuable space, we leave them outside, taking the supplies inside, beginning to put the bags onto a comfy looking leather couch. When the carts were empty, I swept the place quickly with the girls. The reception itself was fairly large. It looked totally clear, but I wanted to check just in case some of Them had gotten inside or something.

"It's clear, but we should check upstairs 2nd floor lah!" I called out to the others.

"Why not the first floor leh?" Matt questions.

"Because there will probably be nothing there," I reply. "Now come on, let's go."

My friends nod, picking up our bags of supplies and heading for the lifts.

The bloodied elevator doors open smoothly. There weren't any Infected directly in front of the doors, since they're all spread out.

Blood stains the once-lavish carpeting in the lobby. There are some dead bodies on the floor, likely Infected that were killed before their assailants became Infected themselves.

I point to Ben, PL and Matt, then to a horde at the opposite end of the lobby. I then make a throat-slit motion. Ben, PL and Matt nod, going off to do their job.

I motion Catherine to follow me and we sneak up on the Infected crowded around a door nearby.

I make the elimination motion again after pointing to the group. Catherine nods and raises her combat knife. I do the same with my axe, gripping the handle with both hands.

Catherine brings her knife down, splitting a skull open like a water balloon. I swing my battle axe with as much force as possible, the heavy steel blade going right through into the back of an Infected's skull. A small amount of brain matter sprays out, splattering on my T-shirt. A few of the still alive Infected start to turn around.

I glance at Matt to see him struggle with an Infected. What the hell is he doing? Ben has a bit of blood on him, suggesting he killed at least one, but Matt... Seriously?

BAM!

Shit, he shot! Matt, couldn't you have just hit that thing? Oh well, doesn't matter now.

I unsling the M16 with my other hand, flicking off the safety and shouldering the rifle, aiming at the horde in front of me. Peering through the scope, I line up the shot, trying to get as many in the sight as I can.

I squeeze the trigger for a second, firing a couple rounds. Wow, this recoil is strong.

The spent casings lightly thud on the carpet, as do six Infected. Catherine stabs another Infected in the head, caving it's skull in before jumping and flawlessly backflipping over an Infected behind her, her knife piercing the the thing's head from behind as she comes down. The Infected crumples, lifeless.

A few more shots are fired from Matt's rifle.

I grip my axe in my hand before bringing the double-headed blade down on a walking corpse's head. Through the axe, I feel the skull break and some mushy resistance, immediately feeling the Infected go limp beneath me as I pull the blade out.

Catherine seems to be making short work of those Infected over there.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

"Stop shooting can or not?" I shout, turning back to Matt. There's a small pile of dead Infected and Ben in a corner, his shirt and face covered in blood and brain matter.

"And let Them kill Ben?" Matt asks, aiming the L115 at another Infected. "No way lah!"

He pulls the trigger again, causing another Infected to fall. His aim doesn't seem precise, probably since he hasn't used a real gun before, until now.

The hotel's 2nd floor has become a slaughterhouse. There aren't that many Infected left, five from what I've counted. Blood is everywhere, even on the ceiling. I do not want to know how it got up there.

I watch as Pui Leng spin-kicks an Infected, her foot connecting hard with the thing's head, sending it to the ground before plunging her one of her spiked brass knuckles through it's skull.

Another glances around and it seems I was right. Four are still standing, but they won't be for much longer.

I grip the M16's handle with my right hand again, switch the fire selector to semi-auto, and take aim at a lone Infected in the far corner.

I suddenly have a idea. "Hey dumbasses!" The Infected all look at me, now I have their attention.

"What are you waiting for? Shoot lah!" Matt yells.

"Shut up and check on Ben!" I shout back.

My attention returns to the Infected. There's something I want to try, so I start to walk backwards. They need to get lined up for it to work.

It's basic science, I guess. I know that if you fire a projectile and it goes through a target, it will keep going for a while and possibly penetrate another target. Line up four targets in a close row and maybe the bullet will go through them all.

At least the bodies of the Infected seem to be structurally weaker so it might work.

The four all move their heads in roughly the same direction and my finger pulls the trigger.

The bullet leaves the barrel of the rifle and punches through two of the skulls, leaving the other two standing. I quickly pull the trigger again, taking down the remaining undead.

I look around, satisfied by the carnage that we caused and glance at Ben. He looks pale. Pui Leng and Matt seem to be taking care of him, but I haven't got a idea what's wrong.

Catherine and I hurry to the opposite side, where Ben, PL and Matt are.

"What's wrong leh?" I ask, flicking the safety on, then slinging the assault rifle over my shoulder.

"Don't know lah," Matt says. "He wasn't bitten, but..."

"Maybe he's just in shock leh," Catherine hypothesises.

I look at her, an eyebrow raised.

"What do you mean lah?" PL questions.

"Remember what happened last week in school or not? Ben threw up while we were dissecting that frog in science!" Catherine reminds us.

"Ya," I say. "Even when we were watching that Untamed Science documentary about animal births last term, he covered his eyes and totally freaked out remember?"

"How can I forget lah?" Pui Leng laughs.

The elevator to our left suddenly opens and I shoulder the M16.

Inside are two people, Jared Lim and Rachel Lee from our class, blood covers their clothes, some of it spattered on their faces.

The lift's light is flickering and there seems to be blood inside of the lift as well.

I lower the rifle upon recognising them.

"Are you guys bit or not?" I ask.

Rachel is shaking, probably from shock of me pointing my rifle at her earlier. "N-no..."

I look at Jared, who's shaking his head.

"Were you guys on the seventeenth floor?" Matt asks.

Jared nods, coming out of the lift. "Ya, why?"

"Just checking lah," I nod. "The last thing I want is for all of us to be bitten and Turned."

Rachel follows Jared, but she's limping. My eyes lock on to her right leg, which is bleeding. She has a small chunk of flesh ripped out of her lower leg.

"She's infected!" I shout.

Matt grabs my shoulder. "Wah lau! What are you doing leh? We find more survivors and you say one is infected?"

Rachel spins around. "I'm not-" She coughs, blood pooling on the floor.

She stumbles and coughs more.

Jared turns around and grabs her before she can fall on her ass.

"Don't worry," he says, trying reassure her. "You'll be fine lah."

I unsling the rifle and pull it up. "Get away! She's been bit!"

"No!" Jared insists. "She cut her leg while we were running!"

"A cut doesn't take out a chunk of flesh!" I reason.

Matt holds his arm up as I step forward. "Wait leh."

"For what lah? For her to go crazy and bite him?"

"Jared may be telling the truth lah. We should listen." He insists.

I push Matt's arm away and shoulder the rifle.

Rachel's gone limp, so that's not good. The virus has already taken effect.

If I can put a bullet in her head before she goes full on Infected, maybe it'll still work, but Jared is still caressing her body.

"Move out of the way lah!" I shout at Jared.

"She's going to be fine!" he yells back. "Look, she's getting up!"

I swear under my breath and start running forward, the rifle still shouldered. It's uncomfortable to run while aiming a rifle.

Rachel rears her head back. This is my chance. My finger pulls the trigger once more. The muzzle flashes and the bullet flies to meet its target.

She bites him on the arm, causing him to cry out, just before the bullet impales itself into her head.

"Shit!" Jared yells, looking toward his dead friend. "Wah lau! She's dead! You chee bai!"

"Obviously lah," I walked over to Jared. "You should've just said she was bit."

"But..." he groans, pain likely pulsating from the bite. "You would've just shot her!"

"And I ended up doing that! If you had said something, you wouldn't be about to die too!"

PL comes up next to me and gently puts her hand on my shoulder. "You're being a bit too blunt lah."

"I'm just stating the facts, he needs to know." I reply.

No one says anything, silence looming all around us.

"Look, your death's inevitable." I lean down next to Jared. "I can let you suffer and Turn, or end it now."

"There must be some other way!" He must have a very thick skull.

"There's no other way, I'm sorry lah." I state

"You're a fucking prick, go and kill yourself!" Jared shouts, spitting in my face.

Catherine shoots Jared one of her infamous death glares, stepping forward and raising her combat knife, holding the blade to his neck.

"Face it lah! You kena got bit and you're going to Turn!" She continues glaring.

Jared's eyes just stay wide. He doesn't say anything.

"So I'm dead?" he finally asks, sounding defeated.

"About time you understood lah. I promise you, you'll die a man, but I have one question." I stand back up, that way I can shoot when the time comes.

"What's your question lah?" He coughs some more.

"Is anyone still alive on the seventeenth floor or not? Anyone else from our group?"

"Group?"

"The Sec 4 and 5 trip lah."

Jared shakes his head and coughs again, this time throwing up blood as well.

"Everyone's dead?" I ask.

"Can't be lah." Catherine mutters, she was shaking her head in disbelief.

"Rachel and I... We were the only ones to make it to... the lifts..." His breathing is becoming more laboured by the minute. He's probably in agony.

"Don't talk lah, just stay still." I raise the M16's barrel to his head, using only one hand.

"What are you doing leh?" Jared asks.

"Stopping you from becoming one of Them." I answer.

With that last word, I pull the trigger, the bullet going through his skull. Blood sprays onto the surrounding carpet and walls just like it did when I euthanised Rachel less than five minutes ago.

It was silent for a couple minutes, the five of us just standing there, Jared's and Rachel's corpses at our feet.

"What do we do now lah?" Matt asks, finally breaking the silence.

"We need to shower while we can lah." Catherine suggested, sheathing her knife.

PL nodded in agreement.

The girls then proceeded to rush around the floor trying to find a unlocked room. When they found a couple, they walked into two of them and shut the doors.

"Let's check for stuff lah." Matt suggested.

"There's probably something in here leh." I guessed, walking to one of the other unlocked rooms and opening the door.

We entered the room. The room was relevantly small, with a table, chair, mini fridge, a bed, a closet, flat screen TV and bathroom.

"Whoa! Eh guys, over here!" I heard Ben exclaim after a while of searching.

I turned to see him crouched by the cabinet under the TV, full of games and books on one side and on the other, a lot of ammunition, three silencers and a scope. Ben passes me one of the silencers and I slide the silencer onto my M16.

"This one might work with your sniper rifle lah." Ben passes Matt one of the other two silencers, then slotted the last one onto his own gun along with the scope.

Matt takes out his rifle and tries to fit the silencer.

"Seems tight leh, but it might work. We won't know until we try it lah." He said.

"Did you receive any training with guns? You seem to know a lot leh." I say.

"Ya, I went to the Bedok Army camp to take a course last November holidays and was trained by Commander Desmond Kuek himself leh, no kidding one." Ben spoke as he started to load bullets into his gun.

"Whoa, remind me not to get on your bad side." Matt joked.

Ben laughs as he proceeds to sort through the boxes of ammunition. He set out two piles, both fairly large. I looked at the largest pile.

"Can our guns take this ammo or not?" I asked.

"Cannot lah, different type," Ben says. "Our guns can only take the 5.56×45mm NATO cartridges."

"Still a pretty good find lah." Matt says.

"Ya," Ben averts his attention to the games and books. "Too bad They are attracted to sound lah. If not we could have had a good night."

"Ya, it was always fun to get you guys over, play some World of Tanks and watch movies." I agreed.

"Aiyah, we can still have fun lah." Matt said, getting up and walking out the room. He came back into the room with three bottles of soft drinks, biscuits. plastic cups and a foldable chess set under his arm

Ben looked at him, surprised before grinning at me.

"Want a game or not?" He asked me, taking the board and pieces from Matt and setting them down.

"Sure lah." I said, sitting down across from Ben who was still grinning. I couldn't tell if he thought of this as a friendly match or competition, but I knew that he was the school's best player and I was going to have to really think.

Ben moved first and then I did. We kept going back and forth until eventually the game started to get more challenging. I was slightly down on material but had a better position.

Then to my surprise, Ben made a miscalculation and that cost him the game.

He groaned, Matt and I laughing and teasing him. "I got my ass kicked." He complained.

Matt, still laughing, unscrewed one of the soft drink bottles and poured some into each cup. We then clinked the cups together and drank.

"Whoa, this is good." I said.

I took another sip, feeling satisfied. I was usually stressed with the amount of homework and assessments I had since I entered Sec 4 at the beginning of this year before everything went to hell; it felt nice to let all that stress go for a while.

There was a knock on the door before Pui Leng's voice was heard from the other side of the door. "Can we come in or not?"

"Sure lah, come in." I say.

At this, Catherine pushed open the door and the girls walked in, PL closing the door behind her.

"What are you guys doing leh?" Catherine asked.

"You guys just missed it, Ben just got his ass kicked by Ryan at chess." Matt tells them.

"Ha ha, so much for you being school number one!" Catherine teases Ben.

The girls were all wearing looser, more comfortable clothes for sleeping. Catherine had her wet hair loose but her fringe clipped up out of her eyes and was wearing a baggy T-shirt with knee-length pyjama shorts, which showed her lean athletic form quite well, while Pui Leng wore a looser-fitting long sleeved silk shirt with matching silk long pants, wearing her long black hair in a loose ponytail.

"You guys should go shower." Catherine suggests, flopping herself onto the bed.

"Okay then, I'll go first." I say heading for the bathroom, stopping only to collect a pair of my new clothes before walking into the bathroom and locking the door.

Turning on the shower, I strip down to nothing and step in.

Wow, that felt good. I step out of the shower, drying myself off before pulling on a fresh set of sleepwear then walking back out into the actual room.

Catherine was now sitting at the table cleaning her knife, looking up as I came out.

"PL, Ben and Matt leh?" I ask.

"Matt is outside on the balcony, PL is in her room and Ben is showering in my room toilet since you took so damn long lah." She sheaths her knife.

"Thanks." I say, heading to the balcony.

"Whoa, this is crazy leh," Matt hands me the pair of binoculars he had found, having had enough. "Take a look lah."

I take it from him and lift the binoculars to my eyes, focusing on the ground where a mass of people had gathered.

It appeared some kind of riot, or protest the citizens were starting.

"Eh, it's just like that riot at Little India two years ago leh." I say.

"Except worse lah." Matt adds.

"Don't tolerate the tyranny of the military! We strongly condemn this biological weapon, this circulation of a 'Killing Pandemic' developed by our government and military!" The protesters were so loud we could hear them from up here.

"Killing Pandemic?" I questioned.

"I think they're talking about the Infection lah." Matt replied.

I was surprised by this. "Are they serious? Bioweapon my ass! They know that no science can explain why the virus causes Infected people to walk around eating other people!"

"Stupid right?" Catherine stood in the doorway, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Very. They are going to get themselves killed with the amount of noise they're making!" I say, lowering the binoculars.

"Neh'mine lah. Not our problem," Matt stated. "We'll just do what we need to do to survive and try not go insane."

I hand the binoculars to Catherine, having had enough myself and walk back into the room.

Sitting down on the bed, I could only think of what had happened over the past few hours, unable to forget how everything went from normal to hell on earth.

A light knock on the door snaps me out of my thoughts.

"Come in lah," I say.

The door opens, PL and Ben letting themselves in before Pui Leng quietly shuts the door.

PL takes one look at me before crossing the room and sitting on the bed next to me.

"You okay or not?" She breaks the firmly settled silence.

"Ya, I'm fine." I say, not wanting to worry her.

The balcony door slides open as Catherine and Matt step into the room, the binoculars still held in Catherine's hand.

"How?" I ask.

"Getting worse lah," Catherine replies.

"Wah'ppen leh?" PL questions, worried.

"People protesting outside about the Infected, saying they are a killing pandemic, a biological weapon lah." Matt says.

"Wah lau! Are they stupid?!" Pui Leng yells.

"Probably," Catherine briefly cracks a smile before becoming serious again. "It's not our problem so I won't worry too much lah."

"Anyway, we can't do anything even if we wanted to help." I reason.

"True..." Ben mutters.

"What time now leh?" PL wanted to know.

"10:00." I reply, glancing at my watch.

"Okay lah, I'm going to bed." Catherine starts for the door but is stopped by me.

"Do we need a barricade to block Them?" I ask.

"Don't need lah." Catherine states.

"Okay, goodnight then." I say.

"Goodnight lah, see you guys tomorrow." She and PL give me one smile each before walking out of my room and splitting off into their respective rooms down the hall.

"I think I should go too lah," Matt says, heading out the open door. "Come on Ben." Matt and Ben walk out of my room, the door clicking shut behind them.

Sighing, I flick off the lights before getting into bed, letting myself slip into the dark oblivion of sleep.

I woke up as sunlight began to seep into my room. I walked across the room into the bathroom, taking some clean clothes with me. I entered the shower, finding the cold water refreshing.

After about ten minutes I got out, dried myself and got dressed, starting to brush my teeth with a toothbrush and cup I had found sitting on the counter top.

The least we could do is keep hygienic.

I spit out the toothpaste in my mouth and pick up the cup of water. Swishing some water around in my mouth, I spit that out too. I can't imagine what it'd be like without toothpaste. I hold the toothbrush under the tap and rinse it off before walking out of the bathroom, grabbing the M16 and my sling bag as I head for the door.

Slipping on my shoes, I head out to the lobby.

Ben, Matt and the girls were already waiting when I got there. Like me, they were all wearing a new set of fresh clothes and had their weapons with them.

"What now leh?" Pui Leng questions.

"We go up to the seventeenth floor and look for survivors." Matt proposes.

"But Jared said no one made it mah." Catherine reminded us.

"Who knows? There might still be people in the rooms," Ben shrugs.

"Ya, it's worth a try. Come on lah." I press the up button, hearing the lift ding before the doors opened and we stepped in.

Blood and dead bodies greeted us as we stepped out onto the seventeenth floor.

Infected, that I guessed were once our teachers and classmates milled about in the hall, still unaware of our presence.

I unsling my rifle and start firing in an arc, mowing down four Infected. I aim for three heads individually and pull the trigger three times.

Shit, this place is a mess just like the 2nd floor. Brain matter, skull fragments and blood is everywhere.

Taking a look around the hall, it seems that it's actually less bloody than the 2nd floor lift lobby.

Is that an arm? There's a dismembered arm on the floor and I hope Ben doesn't see it or he'll freak out.

I motion for my friends to follow me.

We continue forward, checking the two hallways that are divided by a sort of fork. One seems clear, but the other has blood on the farthest wall that I can see.

"Ben and PL, stay here with Matt. Catherine, follow me."

They nod and slide their weapons out. Ben and Matt flick the safety off their guns.

I start heading down the 'not clear' hall, Catherine right behind me.

The hallway ends in a little common area. The lights aren't flickering, giving us a clear view of what we were up against: Infected, Infected, and more Infected.

Some are looking right at us, but they're making no moves to get us. I think they must be blind or something.

The groups surrounding the outdoor speakers come to mind, giving me an idea.

I motion for Catherine to move back down the hall a little. She shrugs, as if to ask why, but I start walking, regardless. She follows.

"What are you planning lah?" She asks quietly when we get back far enough.

"I'm going to try something, hold on lah."

I need something to throw, something like...That arm. That arm can be thrown. It's not the most practical or hygienic thing, but it's my only choice right now.

I run back to the arm, grab it, and run back to where Catherine was waiting. It's revolting, picking up the limb of a human being. It's just so gross...

"That's disgusting lah!" Catherine pulls a disgusted face as I pass her.

"You got a better idea or not?" I look back to see her shake her head.

I creep up to the room with all the Infected once more, weighing the arm, which is actually a forearm and hand. I should be much more disgusted, I really should.

The open room has several doorways and goes on for about fifteen meters. Maybe ten. Measurements have never been my thing. The Infected seem to be concentrated mainly around the doorway second-closest to me, so I'll just lob this piece of meat at the doorway farthest from me.

I weigh the forearm in my hand once more preparing to throw it. I've got to make sure I don't hit a zombie with this and land it near the doorway.

I aim the makeshift decoy at the doorway and toss, putting a reasonable amount of force into the throw. I watch the piece of human flesh soar above the Infected's heads, landing with a smack on the wall next to the doorway.

I don't know what's going to happen. Hopefully I'm right.

The Infected all turn to face the source of the meaty thud and some start running towards it.

Well, they're all in a crowd, so I guess I could start firing bullets into their heads.

I start pulling the trigger, basically shooting blindly into the mass of Infected. A couple Infected drop dead on the right flank, Catherine was making short work of Them, taking off their heads and limbs, her knife killing anything it touched.

Within about five minutes, all of the Infected are either in a pile in front of the doorway or severed limbs scattered about on the floor.

The door next to the pile of corpses is spattered with blood and peppered with bullet holes.

"What the hell were you trying to do with that arm leh?" Catherine asks.

I hit the M16's mag release as I walk over to her. "Matt told me that the Infected have at least two senses still intact." Thirteen rounds left, not bad.

"Then?" Catherine presses.

"Smell and hearing." I slide the magazine back into the rifle.

She just nods and we continue going through the rooms. All of the doors are open, meaning all the zombies should've been out here. There may be some left in the rooms though.

"You check the left side, I'll check the right lah," Catherine says. She had the same idea as me

She goes off to the right and I walk to the left.

The first room is clear, nothing of interest inside besides an uneaten glazed chocolate doughnut on a table.

I pick it up and walk out, progressing to the second room.

This doughnut's pretty good. The second room has some flowers in it and a black suit hanging in the open wardrobe.

I step into the third room and get a surprising sight. It has an Infected in it, but it's wriggling about on the floor, unable to get up. It's kind of funny, but I manage to contain my laughter.

I walk over to the Infected and raise my foot, curb stomping the Infected's face into next week.

I walk out of that room and turn to the fourth. There's only one more to go after this. Inside is nothing special. Why isn't there anything useful?

I head out of that room, with nothing of use inside and into the last room. Two Infected, male and female, are slowly shuffling towards the door.

I grin and unsling my axe, twisting it in my grip. This is going be interesting.

I run towards the zombie on the right, the guy, and swing upwards. The axe's blade pulverises the Infected's gonads, blood and some other unidentifiable liquids spraying out. I retract the axe and bring it down on his head, the heavy blade shattering the skull upon impact.

That was far more disgusting than it was originally.

The female Infected lunges at me, but I sidestep, causing her to fall. I could stomp her skull, but I'd rather use my axe. I swing, decapitating the zombie and sending its skull into the ceiling. A short burst of blood sprays out from the head and starts to pool from the neck.

I walk back out into the hall and bump right into Catherine. At least I don't have to wait or search for her.

"Should we go further down or not?" She asks.

"You go lah, I'll get Matt, PL and Ben up here."

Catherine nods and I walk back down the hall.

"Hey guys," I call when I reach the area in front of the elevator, but none of them are here. "Where are they leh?" I mutter.

I grip the axe again and head down the hallway designated 'clear' earlier, since Catherine should be fine on her own for a while. I need to find these three.

This hallway is clean, something I like compared to the bloody décor of the lobby and the other hallway. The big room with ten doorways is... Empty. Our rooms are in the next series of rooms down, so maybe they're down there. All of the rooms' doors are open, so I peek into each room as I walk down. Nothing. They must've all went in front of the elevator or in that other open space Catherine and I were in.

I'm near the end of these rooms, and I haven't seen anything unusual so far. Open door, closed door, open do-

Closed door? I walk back to it and press my ear up against the door. I think that's screeching. And footsteps. Rapid footsteps. Sounds like there's an Infected in there.

Jared, you are really full of shit. Calling me a prick...

I slowly open the door, trying not to be too loud. I peek inside in time to see a girl about my age sever an Infected's head clean off its shoulders with a machete.

A second Infected starts make its way towards her but is stopped as the girl brings her machete down on the Infected's head, the Infected meeting the same fate as its comrade as it falls lifelessly to the ground

The girl withdraws her machete from the dead Infected's skull before turning to meet my gaze from where she stood near the bed. She's pretty, lean and athletic.

She wore dark green bermuda shorts, a grey t-shirt and black tactical gloves. A handgun holster containing a SIG P226 hung at her thigh. Her long black hair, tied up in a ponytail was splattered with gore as were her clothes and hiking shoes.

Her features were cold, there was no hint of a smile or any kind of expression around her thin lips.

Only her eyes gave any hint of the what she was feeling, but even those betrayed no emotion at the moment.

"What's your name leh?" I ask.

"Cerina." She replies.

"I'm Ryan." I re-sling my battle axe."Why you were stuck in there with two of Them leh?"

"They got in because I forgot to close the door." Cerina states.

I nod. "I'm going to go get my friends, you coming or not?"

"Don't want lah." Cerina declines.

"Why not? We'll all need each other if we're going to survive."

Cerina gives me a look that could slice through steel. "Why the fuck do I need you?"

"Do you have anything else left?"

Cerina turns away from me, furiously wiping away tears before looking back and meeting my gaze. "Okay."

"Cerina?"

"I'll go lah," She says. "There no point in staying here anyway." She shoulders a black backpack and sheaths the machete, tucking it into her pants pocket.

"Alright then, let's go."

With that, the two of us leave the room and start heading down the hall.

"Did you get bit?" I ask, needing reassurance. Cerina shakes her head, "No lah."

I nodded. "Why are you here?" I found myself asking.

"Hiding from Them," Cerina replied. "You leh?"

"My class and I were on a excursion here, except that all my classmates, other then me and four friends are apparently dead."

Before any of us could say more, the next series of rooms come up and right in front of a door are Matt, Pui Leng and Ben.

"Hey," I say, not raising my volume.

They look up and their eyes widen. "Ryan!" Their eyes then hover over Cerina.

Cerina just shrugs and introduces herself.

I hear rapid footsteps coming from behind Matt and Ben, looking back to see who it is.

I unsling my M16 quickly, pulling it up to my shoulder. I'm not going to flick the safety off yet.

The steps get louder and a person appears. That person is Catherine and she's breathing hard, covered in sweat and blood, knife in hand. I re-sling my rifle.

"Ryan, where'd you go leh?" She then notices Cerina. "Who's that?"

"A survivor." I walk forward. "I found her as I went to get him," I point at Ben, "But he wasn't there. Nor were Matt or PL."

"This side," Catherine points to where she came from, "Is completely clear lah."

"As is the rest of this floor then." I reply.

"What now leh?" Matt asks.

"We should let Cerina here clean up first and get her some clean clothes then see what we should do from there lah." I glance at her.

"Fine with me lah, this blood is getting itchy anyway." Cerina walks over to the lift and presses the down button.

"Wait leh, I need to get something." Pui Leng sprints back down the hallway and returns a few minutes later with her two sheathed hook swords hanging by her waist and her Guandao strapped across her back.

The six of us step inside the now open lift and PL presses the 2nd floor button. While we're waiting, I guess I should reload my rifle for later.

I set the M16 down, opening the box of rifle cartridges and taking out six. After picking up my rifle again and sliding the first cartridge in, my hand accidentally pushes the slide, chambering it. Cerina anxiously looks on as I load the remaining five cartridges into the gun.

The lift doors open, revealing our carnage from yesterday, blood and brain matter splattered all over the floor and walls like some sort of gruesome abstract art.

"Did you guys do this?" Cerina wanted to know as we headed to the rooms.

"Ya, why?" I ask.

"Just wondering lah..." Cerina mutters.

Suddenly, Matt shouts a warning and before any of us could react, Catherine was suddenly taken to the floor as a Infected pounced on her from behind.

We watched on in horror, unable to do anything as the Infected's razor-sharp claws tore at Catherine's arm, brutally tearing at the flesh while she screamed in agony.

I got up, quickly shouldering the M16 and aiming, hitting the safety off before shooting the Infected three times in the head.

Catherine pushed the now-dead Infected off as she struggled to her feet.

"Shit lah!" Catherine mutters as she attempts to stop the bleeding.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw about ten other Infected running straight towards us, probably attracted by the smell of Catherine's blood.

"You guys go, I'll hold the others off lah." PL links her hook swords before unslinging her Guandao.

"No, we fight together." Catherine objects.

"Don't be so-" PL started.

"I'll fight as long as I can stand lah." Catherine unsheathes her combat knife, holding it with her uninjured hand.

"I'm just worried you'll Turn leh..." PL voices her concern.

"She won't lah." Matt interrupts.

"How you know one?" Pui Leng questions, narrowing her gaze.

"If you had watched the news you would know that the disease will only spread by contact from bodily fluids, Catherine wasn't bit so she won't Turn lah." Matt shoulders his rifle as well, aiming it at the incoming horde.

Matt, Ben and I wait for for the Infected to draw a little closer before pulling the trigger, three separate bullets crunching into three separate skulls.

I quickly unstrap my axe and swing at another Infected, the heavy steel blade shattering bone and destroying the brain.

There are only six Infected left standing, and there isn't as much blood as before. This is shaping up nicely.

Another two Infected in sight equals another two dead. I swing the axe upwards, the blade smashing into another Infected's jaw. The Infected gets sent flying backwards, right into Catherine's knife.

I look at PL and she's doing really well, stabbing the double-sided dagger at the end of the hook sword's hilt into their skulls, using the crescent guard to slash at any Infected that got too close and decapitating three in one swing, the second blade scything out in a deadly blur of silver, cleaving through their heads, effectively taking out more than Ben, Matt and I combined.

The last Infected turns and runs towards me, but that's not going to happen for long. Just as I raise my axe to splatter it's brain into the ground, a gunshot sounds out and the Infected crumples, a 5.56mm round embedded in the back of it's right knee.

I glance around before locking eyes with Cerina. She held her machete in one hand and a SAR-21 in the other, the barrel smoking.

I watched as she wielded her machete with extreme skill, stabbing downwards at the helpless Infected while it slowly crawled towards her, moaning.

The machete's blade comes down on the Infected's neck, instantly beheading it, blood spurts from the severed head and neck, pooling on the carpeted floor.

"Why did you have to kill it? I could've done it lah." I told Cerina.

Cerina just shrugs, sheathing the machete and sliding it into her shorts.

**That's the end of Chapter 2! Hope you guys enjoyed it and don't forget to review! **

**NLH out!**


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